Older City Battles Runoff

Like many older cities, Lancaster’s
underground pipes collect both sewage and rainwater. During storms, the Pennsylvania
city's sewage-treatment plant can't handle it all, so stormwater and sewage get
diverted directly into the Conestoga River, which feeds into Chesapeake Bay. In 2012, about 750
million gallons of stormwater/sewage were allowed to flush into the Conestoga
during storm events.

In 1998, the city’s original plan was to build massive storage tanks to store
the runoff; instead, the city is two years into a 25-year, $140 million Green
Infrastructure Plan. That plan seeks to reduce stormwater runoff through
increasing the city's tree canopy, rain gardens, green roofs, porous pavement,
rain barrels and other measures.